Round-the-clock cath lab opens at Limerick hospital

HEART attack victims will no longer be taken by ambulance to Galway for treatment following confirmation that the cath lab at the Mid Western Regional Hospital will operate on a 24-7 basis from today.

HEART attack victims will no longer be taken by ambulance to Galway for treatment following confirmation that the cath lab at the Mid Western Regional Hospital will operate on a 24-7 basis from today.

For some weeks now, Limerick patients who have suffered a particular kind of heart attack known as a STEMI have been unable to get an angiogram and life-saving surgical intervention in Limerick outside the hours of 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

A number of patients have been transferred from Limerick by ambulance to Galway University Hospital in recent weeks and a man in his seventies was airlifted from West Limerick last week.

Subjecting such seriously ill patients to a 90-minute ambulance journey had been described as “irresponsible” and potentially “unsafe” by senior Limerick cardiologist Dr Brendan Meaney.

Consultants and support staff are now in place for the cath lab in Limerick to operate round-the-clock - beginning this morning.

Welcoming the announcement, Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell said: “This is about Limerick people having parity within the system and we deserve nothing less. The situation where people could not be treated in Limerick should never have come about. I congratulate the management and clinical staff in Limerick Regional Hospital and all involved. This is a very good news story for Limerick.”

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